Expansive Soil in Arkansas: County Ratings
9 of the 75 rated counties in Arkansas have a dominant shrink-swell rating of High or Very High. Each rating below is the NRCS shrink-swell class covering the largest share of the county's mapped soil acres, computed from USDA SSURGO data. Open a county for the full class breakdown and what it means for a slab foundation.
| County | Dominant class | High + Very High share | Survey coverage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Arkansas County | High | 69% | 95% |
| Ashley County | Low | 14% | 97% |
| Baxter County | Low | 55% | 94% |
| Benton County | Low | 5% | 96% |
| Boone County | Low | 30% | 98% |
| Bradley County | Low | 9% | 99% |
| Calhoun County | Low | 0% | 98% |
| Carroll County | Low | 39% | 98% |
| Chicot County | Very High | 64% | 86% |
| Clark County | Low | 21% | 98% |
| Clay County | Low | 22% | 99% |
| Cleburne County | Low | 19% | 94% |
| Cleveland County | Low | 16% | 99% |
| Columbia County | Low | 8% | 99% |
| Conway County | Low | 15% | 97% |
| Craighead County | Moderate | 10% | 99% |
| Crawford County | Low | 18% | 98% |
| Crittenden County | Very High | 75% | 94% |
| Cross County | Low | 41% | 95% |
| Dallas County | Low | 14% | 98% |
| Desha County | Very High | 63% | 89% |
| Drew County | Low | 25% | 99% |
| Faulkner County | Low | 5% | 97% |
| Franklin County | Low | 12% | 97% |
| Fulton County | High | 53% | 99% |
| Garland County | Low | 18% | 92% |
| Grant County | Low | 20% | 99% |
| Greene County | Low | 24% | 98% |
| Hempstead County | Low | 46% | 98% |
| Hot Spring County | Low | 10% | 98% |
| Howard County | Low | 24% | 98% |
| Independence County | Low | 16% | 99% |
| Izard County | Low | 11% | 99% |
| Jackson County | Moderate | 27% | 99% |
| Jefferson County | Low | 43% | 96% |
| Johnson County | Low | 3% | 96% |
| Lafayette County | Low | 39% | 96% |
| Lawrence County | Low | 30% | 99% |
| Lee County | Low | 28% | 95% |
| Lincoln County | Low | 37% | 98% |
| Little River County | Low | 37% | 94% |
| Logan County | Low | 9% | 97% |
| Lonoke County | Low | 33% | 95% |
| Madison County | Low | 41% | 100% |
| Marion County | Low | 35% | 93% |
| Miller County | Low | 43% | 96% |
| Mississippi County | Very High | 71% | 96% |
| Monroe County | Moderate | 33% | 97% |
| Montgomery County | Low | 3% | 97% |
| Nevada County | Low | 11% | 99% |
| Newton County | Low | 19% | 99% |
| Ouachita County | Low | 7% | 98% |
| Perry County | High | 69% | 98% |
| Phillips County | Low | 37% | 94% |
| Pike County | Low | 40% | 98% |
| Poinsett County | Low | 33% | 98% |
| Polk County | Low | 4% | 99% |
| Pope County | Low | 11% | 97% |
| Prairie County | Low | 42% | 94% |
| Pulaski County | Low | 36% | 91% |
| Randolph County | Low | 32% | 99% |
| Saline County | High | 61% | 97% |
| Scott County | High | 49% | 99% |
| Searcy County | Low | 26% | 97% |
| Sebastian County | Low | 5% | 97% |
| Sevier County | Low | 27% | 96% |
| Sharp County | Moderate | 18% | 99% |
| St. Francis County | Low | 39% | 97% |
| Stone County | Low | 11% | 99% |
| Union County | Low | 17% | 98% |
| Van Buren County | Low | 33% | 98% |
| Washington County | Low | 34% | 99% |
| White County | Low | 17% | 99% |
| Woodruff County | Low | 28% | 98% |
| Yell County | Low | 30% | 98% |
How these ratings are computed
Ratings come from USDA NRCS SSURGO soil survey data: for each soil component we take the maximum linear extensibility percent (lep_r) in the top 100 cm, apply the NRCS Handbook Part 618 class limits (Low under 3 percent, Moderate 3 to 6, High 6 to 9, Very High 9 and above), assign map units by plurality of component percent, and roll acres up to the county. Full details on the methodology section of the lookup page. A county rating is not a parcel-level geotechnical assessment.